Imagine there is an evil man, hungry for control, who has invented a machine that can control what people think. He is kidnapping people, but the machine is soothing people with a message that says “The missing aren’t missing, they’re only departed.” This is why four children, from completely different backstories but all extremely bright, are brought together: to save the world. Reynard (Reynie) Muldoon, an orphan who has never known his parents, is very keen at reading people’s facial expressions and speech. He has a knack for solving puzzles andnoticing anything strange. Sticky Washington is so called because he reads faster than lightning, and he remembers all of it. Therefore, he possesses a vast library of information inside his head, and he’s always ready with an answer. Kate Wetheral is fresh out of the circus. She is extremely resourceful and athletic, and never goes anywhere without her red bucket of tools hooked to her belt. Constance Contraire, a very tiny, pudgy girl, is a candy-loving, stubborn, demanding child, who seems nothing but a nuisance to the other Society members. But she has a very sensitive mind, which proves very useful. Mr. Benedict brings them all together through special tests, and these four are the only ones who pass. He helps them develop their gifts and sends them to the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened (L.I.V.E.) to gather information on how to best stop the evil man behind all of the strange goings-on. Teamwork is a recurring theme throughout the book. Kate learns that she needs other people. She can’t live on her own, completely independent of anyone else. Sticky learns that he matters; he’s needed and gifted. Reynie learns what it means to be a leader, to be depended on for answers. “‘I want to make some things perfectly clear,’ said Mr. Benedict. ‘It is not my wish to put you in harm’s way. Quite the opposite: I despise the notion. Children should spend their time learning and playing in absolute safety – that is my firm belief. Now then, assuming I am telling the truth, can you guess why I would nonetheless involve you in something dangerous?’(…) ‘If you are telling the truth,’ said Reynie, ‘then the only reason you would put us in danger is that you believe we’ll fall into greater danger if you don’t.’” This gives the children a sense of duty, and that is important to have. Sometimes it becomes their only motivation. The book also teaches about the importance of friendship.“‘I can see it in you,’ Reynie said with perfect conviction. ‘(…) When your friends really need you, they can count on you. I just know it. And I do need you, Sticky. I need you here as a friend.’” The Mysterious Benedict Society is an interesting, captivating book that will have you begging for more. It emphasizes teamwork and friendship, and you will be laughing and crying along with them. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. Brown Books for Young Readers, 2008. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Reviewed by Alexis, 13
I love Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling’s writing is interesting, accessible, and will have you laughing, and especially crying, with the characters as you read through the series. I’ve noticed that while looking through Stone Soup’s book reviews, all the reviews relating to Harry Potter are either of the first book or the whole series (or perhaps of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). I realize that this is the easier angle to take, however, I would like to write a review discussing one of the middle books from a more stand-alone-like perspective. Obviously, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, and The Prisoner of Azkaban, books one, two, and three of the series, should be read first. Some things would be very confusing if you didn’t. But, forgetting the end of the book for now, which sort of ends with a tremendous cliff-hanger (I won’t say any more than that), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a very good book in and of itself. It opens with a mystery of Harry’s scar hurting, and a strange dream. But this is nearly forgotten in the fun of reuniting with Ron and Hermione for the Quidditch World Cup, and Harry is having the time of his life. Then something terrible happens. As a reader, you are just as confused as Harry by the whole situation. Then, once at Hogwarts, Harry’s name is drawn out of the Goblet of Fire to compete in the triwizard tournament; even though he’s not seventeen. This puts people, his closest friends included, against him, but soon the strangeness of it is forgotten in the intensity of the tournament itself. The appearance of a house elf at the Quidditch World Cup sets Hermione off in an effort to get fair treatment for house elves. This is a refreshing side-plot during the story, as it brings out a side of Hermione that readers have not yet really seen and takes everyone’s mind off of the triwizard tournament for brief stretches of time. This sounds like too much is going on; there are too many loose ends. And if you are not familiar with J.K. Rowling’s writing, you may wonder how in the world is she going to manage to tie it all up? But she does. Another thing that I enjoyed in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was the ending. I am unable to say much, or I will spoil the whole book. But the end of the book, the climax of it all, is Harry’s alone. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all help in the end. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, it is Harry and Ron. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it is Harry and Hermione, as Ron is in the hospital with a broken leg. But, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the readers get something that they have not really gotten before: how Harry reacts to an extremely dangerous situation when he is all alone. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Ron and Hermione. Hermione might be my favorite character, because she reminds me largely of myself. However, Harry is the protagonist of the whole series. He needed a fight for himself, and this happens in the fourth book. I appreciate that. I strongly recommend the Harry Potter series. The books tie wonderfully into each other. But remember, try to think about the book itself, and not just how it fits into the series. It lends a new perspective to the reading. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2000. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Out of my Mind, Reviewed by Alexis Forman, 11
Imagine living all your life without being able to walk, talk, or even move with fairly good coordination. Melody Brooks, the main character in this book, is almost eleven years old, and has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She has lived all her life with words surrounding her, and a million thoughts in her head. Yet she has been tortured by the fact that she cannot respond to those words or express those thoughts. Then, with the help of her neighbor, Mrs. V., Melody purchases a machine (a special type of laptop) that gives her a voice. One where she can type any word or sentence and the computer will say it for her. She is a brilliant young girl, yet until this amazing opportunity comes up she cannot prove to anyone, teachers and doctors alike, what her brain can actually do. I think one of the reasons that this book popped out to me was that fact that the main character has a disability. So many books have main characters that are ordinary kids. Middle schoolers who are trying to make it through middle school alive. Older siblings that are jealous of their new younger sibling. Those books focus on everyday things, and yet when we read them we always feel bad for them, and want to help them through their problems. But what about kids like Melody, who have more difficult lives than any of us? Don’t they deserve a standing ovation for just living through the first five years of their life? I also think I especially liked this book because I can relate fairly well to it. I have an uncle who has Down syndrome. In the book, there is a side character named Maria. Being in Melody’s class at school, Melody does describe her a bit. Maria has Down syndrome. Although she is the character who I can understand best (because of my uncle), the other children in Melody’s class have disabilities as well, that I feel I am able to understand what is going on in their heads because of my uncle. Later on in the book, Melody makes her school’s Whiz Kids team because of her smarts. Two girls, Molly and Claire, do not think she should have made the team, although both of them made the team themselves. They talk badly of her behind her back, and you find yourself taking Melody’s side and defending her. You start thinking “They’re so mean! Why don’t they just close their mouths?” But, the truth is, there are people out there like that. I think what we should take from this book is the fact that those people (people with disabilities) just wanted to be recognized for who they really are, and not as “that girl in the wheelchair” or “that boy who can’t talk”. We should judge these special people by their character and not by their appearances. Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010. Buy the book here and support Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!
